The League of Gentlemen is a surreal British comedy horror sitcom that premiered on BBC Two in 1999. The programme is set in Royston Vasey, a fictional town in northern England, originally based on Alston, Cumbria, and follows the lives of bizarre characters, most of whom are played by three of the show's four writers – Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton, and Reece Shearsmith – who, along with Jeremy Dyson, formed the League of Gentlemen comedy troupe in 1995. The series originally aired for three series from 1999 until 2002 followed by a film in 2005.
Mark Gatiss is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, director, producer and novelist. His work includes writing for and acting in the television series Doctor Who, Sherlock, and Dracula. Together with Reece Shearsmith, Steve Pemberton and Jeremy Dyson, he is a member of the comedy team The League of Gentlemen. He played Tycho Nestoris in the HBO series Game of Thrones.
Mark Heap is an English actor and comedian. He is known for his roles in television comedies, including, Brass Eye, Big Train, Spaced, Jam, Green Wing, Friday Night Dinner, Upstart Crow and Benidorm.
The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse is a 2005 disaster horror comedy film based on the British television series The League of Gentlemen. Directed by Steve Bendelack at his directorial debut and written by the series' cast along with Jeremy Dyson, the film stars Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith with Michael Sheen, Victoria Wood, David Warner, Alan Morrissey, Bruno Langley, Bernard Hill, Simon Pegg and Peter Kay in guest roles.
Reeson Wayne "Reece" Shearsmith is an English actor, writer and comedian. He is best known for being a member of The League of Gentlemen, alongside Steve Pemberton, Mark Gatiss, and Jeremy Dyson. With Pemberton, he later created, wrote and starred in the sitcom Psychoville, as well as the dark comedy anthology series, Inside No. 9.
Steven James Pemberton is an English actor, comedian, director and writer. He is best known as a member of The League of Gentlemen with Reece Shearsmith, Mark Gatiss, and Jeremy Dyson. Pemberton and Shearsmith also co-wrote and starred in the black comedy Psychoville and the anthology series Inside No. 9. His other television credits include Doctor Who, Benidorm, Blackpool, Shameless, Whitechapel,Happy Valley and Mapp and Lucia.
Jeremy Dyson is an English author, musician and screenwriter who, along with Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith, is one of the League of Gentlemen. He also created and co-wrote the West End show Ghost Stories and its film adaptation.
Tom Goodman-Hill is an English actor of film, television, theatre and radio.
Psychoville is a British psychological horror-thriller black comedy mystery television series created and written by and starring The League of Gentlemen members Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton for the BBC. It debuted on BBC Two on 18 June 2009. Pemberton and Shearsmith each play numerous characters, with Dawn French, Jason Tompkins, Daniel Kaluuya and Eileen Atkins in additional starring roles. The first series was followed by a Halloween special, broadcast on 31 October 2010, which saw Imelda Staunton and Jason Watkins added to the main cast. The second series was first broadcast on 5 May 2011 and ended on 6 June. Reece Shearsmith has officially announced that there will not be a third series. In February 2020, Shearsmith and Pemberton's follow-up series, Inside No. 9, crossed over with Psychoville and brought back five of the characters for the episode "Death Be Not Proud".
Inside No. 9 is a British black comedy anthology television programme that first aired in 2014. It is written by Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton and produced by the BBC. Each 30-minute episode is a self-contained story with new characters and a new setting, and all star Pemberton or Shearsmith. Aside from the writers, each episode has a new cast, allowing Inside No. 9 to attract a number of well-known actors. The stories are linked only by the number 9 in some way and a brass hare statue that is in the background of all episodes. Settings include a suburban house, a gothic mansion and a barn. Pemberton and Shearsmith took inspiration for Inside No. 9 from an episode of Psychoville, a previous project, which was filmed in a single room. This episode was, in turn, inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's Rope.
"Sardines" is the first episode of British dark comedy anthology series Inside No. 9. Written by Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith, it premiered on BBC Two and BBC Two HD on 5 February 2014. In the episode, a group of adults play sardines at an engagement party. Rebecca, the bride-to-be, finds a boring man named Ian in a wardrobe; he introduces himself as a colleague of Jeremy, Rebecca's fiancé. The pair are subsequently joined by family, friends and colleagues of Rebecca and Jeremy. As more people enter the room and step into the wardrobe, secrets shared by some of the characters are revealed, with various allusions to incestuous relationships, child sexual abuse and adultery. The humour is both dark and British, with references to past unhappiness and polite but awkward interactions.
"A Quiet Night In" is the second episode of the British dark comedy television anthology series Inside No. 9. It first aired on 12 February 2014 on BBC Two. Written by Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton, it stars the writers as a pair of hapless burglars attempting to break into the large, modernist house of a couple—played by Denis Lawson and Oona Chaplin—to steal a painting. Once the burglars make it into the house, they encounter obstacle after obstacle, while the lovers, unaware of the burglars' presence, argue. The episode progresses almost entirely without dialogue, relying instead on physical comedy and slapstick, though more sinister elements are present in the plot. In addition to Pemberton, Shearsmith, Lawson and Chaplin, "A Quiet Night In" also starred Joyce Veheary and Kayvan Novak.
"Tom & Gerri" is the third episode of British dark comedy anthology series Inside No. 9. It premiered on BBC2 on 19 February 2014. The episode was based on a play that Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith had written while living together prior to the development of their series The League of Gentlemen. While the play had originally been around two hours in length, the episode was only half an hour. "Tom & Gerri" follows a difficult period in the life of Tom (Shearsmith), a primary school teacher and aspiring writer, and his girlfriend Gerri, a struggling actress, after Tom invites the homeless Migg (Pemberton) into his home. Conleth Hill stars as Stevie, a man worried about the mental health of his friend Tom. The entire episode takes place inside Tom's flat.
"The Harrowing" is the sixth and final episode of the first series of British dark comedy anthology series Inside No. 9. It aired on 12 March 2014 on BBC Two. The episode was written by Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith, and stars Shearsmith, Aimee-Ffion Edwards, Helen McCrory, Poppy Rush and Sean Buckley. While comedic in places, "The Harrowing" makes extensive use of gothic horror elements transmuted into a modern context. The plot follows Katy (Edwards), who has been hired to housesit for eccentric siblings Hector (Shearsmith) and Tabitha (McCrory). They rarely leave the house, but have an event to attend. They tell Katy about their bedridden, disabled brother Andras (Buckley), who cannot speak but will ring a bell if he needs assistance. Katy is joined by her friend Shell (Rush) once Hector and Tabitha leave, and, upon hearing Andras's bell, the pair reluctantly head upstairs. The episode takes place in Hector and Tabitha's mansion, which is kept deliberately cold and filled with paintings depicting Hell. The writers experimented with a variety of possible endings, hoping to make the episode's close both interesting and scary.
"The Trial of Elizabeth Gadge" is the third episode of the second series of the British dark comedy anthology television programme Inside No. 9. It was written by Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton, and directed by Dan Zeff. It first aired on 9 April 2015 on BBC Two. The story follows a 17th-century witch trial. Elizabeth Gadge, played by Ruth Sheen, stands accused of witchcraft by inhabitants of the village of Little Happens, including characters played by Sinead Matthews, Jim Howick, Paul Kaye and Trevor Cooper. The magistrate Sir Andrew Pike, played by David Warner, has summoned the famed witch-finders Mr Warren and Mr Clarke, played by Shearsmith and Pemberton, to try Elizabeth, but is more concerned with bringing visitors to the village than finding the truth.
"Séance Time" is the sixth and final episode of the second series of the British dark comedy anthology television programme Inside No. 9. It was first broadcast on 29 April 2015 on BBC Two. The episode was written by Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith, and directed by Dan Zeff. It stars Pemberton, Shearsmith, Alison Steadman, Alice Lowe, Sophie McShera, Dan Starkey, Cariad Lloyd and Caden-Ellis Wall. The episode begins with Tina (McShera) arriving at a Victorian villa for a séance. Hives (Shearsmith) sits her at a table and then escorts the ominous, shrouded Madam Talbot (Steadman) into the room.
"Private View" is the sixth and final episode of the third series of the British black comedy anthology television programme Inside No. 9. Written by Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith, the episode was directed by Guillem Morales and was first shown on 21 March 2017, on BBC Two. It stars Pemberton, Shearsmith, Fiona Shaw, Montserrat Lombard, Morgana Robinson, Felicity Kendal, Johnny Flynn, and Muriel Gray. The comedian Peter Kay makes a cameo appearance, with his character being killed in the episode's opening seconds.
"The Bill" is the second episode of the third series of the British dark comedy anthology television programme Inside No. 9. It first aired on 21 February 2017, on BBC Two. The episode was written by Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton, and was directed by Guillem Morales. "The Bill" focuses on four men—Archie, Malcolm, Kevin, and Craig—arguing over who should pay the bill in a restaurant at closing time, much to the dismay of the waitress Anya. It addresses themes of masculinity and competition, and the English north–south divide is a recurring issue; Craig, the visiting southerner, is wealthier than the other three, and unfamiliar with some of their terminology.
Bird Island is a comedy radio series which stars Reece Shearsmith and was written by Katy Wix. The show was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and ran for two series.
